Happy Halloween!

Puppet Show Tomorrow!

Don’t miss Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths at the NoHo Arts Center on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 11 am and 1 pm.



Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths debuted in June 2006 and has been performed at more than 60 California venues, from San Diego to Stinson Beach. This will be the show’s North Hollywood premiere.

"The children, along with their parents, truly enjoyed the show. The interaction with the audience was great. One kid correctly summed up this enjoyable afternoon with the comment 'Wow, that was a great show!'"
Tara Smith, Youth Services Librarian, San Marino Public Library

Gold Fish

Ah, the Gold Fish… Lady Fromage’s prized possession. I based the design of the Gold Fish on several exotic breeds of, well, goldfish.

Don’t miss Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths at the NoHo Arts Center on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 11 am and 1 pm.

Back of the House

Because Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths’s Lady Fromage was going to be built as a small rod puppet, it was important that her features read clearly from a distance. The drawing on the right is pretty close to the actual design, although the final puppet has bigger ears and a pointier face. The drawing on the left is more detailed and would probably make a great animated character.

Don’t miss Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths at the NoHo Arts Center on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 11 am and 1 pm.

Sisters

These are the most extreme Lady Fromage character designs I did for our puppet show Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths. Although these designs were too exaggerated for the mild-mannered lady of the house, they would be perfect for her two gossiping sisters.

Don’t miss Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths at the NoHo Arts Center on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 11 am and 1 pm.

Lady Fromage

Lady Fromage, from our puppet show Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths, was a fun character to design. These are two of my favorite drawings of her. I like the paranoid look of the first drawing and the snooty grandmotherly look of the second. I drew Lady Fromage in a nightgown because originally Rex and Boots were called in the middle of the night. She was later given a nice yellow gown to make her look more rich and elegant.

Don’t miss Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths at the NoHo Arts Center on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 11 am and 1 pm.

Manor Painting 2

Here is another painting I did for the Fromage Manor set for Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths. In the show, Lady Fromage longs for a simple life in the country. I painted this landscape to represent that. Although I was working with acrylics, I wanted the painting to appear as if it had been done in oils. I painted this picture very quickly to give it a loose expressionistic feel.

Don’t miss Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths at the NoHo Arts Center on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 11 am and 1 pm.

Here is an excerpt of an interview I conducted with Rex and Boots puppeteers Sean Johnson and Anita Coulter.

PJ: What is next for you and Swazzle?

SJ: This is such an exciting time for our company because there is so much on the horizon. We have two new puppet shows in development for summer 2007. Two episodes of our monthly web series, “The Swazzle Workshop,” have just premiered, and we are in the process of producing more. Plus, we’re creating new products for our online store, and Swazzle.com is getting a record number of hits as we continue to update and expand the site.

AC: More shows! We're working on additional videos for the "Swazzle Workshop" feature on our website (www.swazzle.com) and gearing up for next summer's shows. There's always something new to work on!

Manor Painting 1

Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths takes place in the seemingly expansive Fromage Manor. To create the look of wealth, I painted pictures to hang on the side panels of our puppet stage.

I wanted this portrait of Lady Fromage’s greedy uncle Horace to feel stuffy and unpleasant. I started by doing a Google image search for portraits from the early 1800s so the lighting and color palette would feel authentic. In my search I found several unintentionally hilarious portraits from that time. I painted Horace as if some poor artist had been given the task of creating a forgiving portrait of a very unattractive character.

Horace’s hair was originally black, but in combination with the huge mutton chops and high collar, it made him look like a strange caricature of Elvis Presley in his Vegas years. So I painted Horace’s hair white.

Don’t miss Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths at the NoHo Arts Center on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 11 am and 1 pm.

Here is an excerpt of an interview I conducted with Rex and Boots puppeteers Sean Johnson and Anita Coulter.

PJ: What lesson will audiences take away from “Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths”?

AC: “Rex and Boots” is one of my favorite shows. It has a very satisfying story arc for the characters. I think they each learn a lesson. Rex, who is very focused on his own theories about the mystery for most of the show, learns to listen to the advice of others -- namely Boots. And Boots, who was in awe of Rex's abilities, learns to appreciate her own gifts. As for the moral of the story, well, I'd say it's that crime doesn't pay, but we like each audience member take away their own idea about the moral.

Rex Variation

Here is another interesting Rex design for our puppet show Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths. I like the color of the fur and the unusual shape of the head, although this design didn’t seem appropriate for a detective.

Don’t miss Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths at the NoHo Arts Center on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 11 am and 1 pm.

Here is an excerpt of an interview I conducted with Rex and Boots puppeteers Sean Johnson and Anita Coulter.

PJ: After every show you do a behind-the-scenes presentation. Are you afraid of giving away any puppetry secrets?

SJ: The behind-the-scenes presentation is one of my favorite parts of the show. By giving children that peek behind the curtain, we are showing them that this is something they could do at home. I hope that it inspires the next generation of puppeteers.

Grey Kitty

Here are two more Boots character designs. I think the grey cat could have been cute, but I always imagined Boots as a black-and-white cat.

Don’t miss Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths at the NoHo Arts Center on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 11 am and 1 pm.

Here is an excerpt of an interview I conducted with Rex and Boots puppeteers Sean Johnson and Anita Coulter.

PJ: Does your arm get tired after performing two shows in a row?

AC: Nah! In the off season (any time besides the summer) I spend some time with a trainer to keep all that hard-earned summer muscle. So stepping into a show (or two, or three) isn't too taxing on the arms and shoulders. There is usually a refresher period during rehearsals when I say, "Aha! That's what this feels like." But summer wasn't that long ago, and I've kept my hand in, so to speak.

No Neck

This is probably the creepiest character design I did for Rex, from our puppet show Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths. I researched a bunch of dog breeds to find the perfect match for the not-so-smart detective, but this, unfortunately, was not it. This poor character looks like he has back problems. I think this design would have been more successful if I’d drawn him a neck.

Don’t miss Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths at the NoHo Arts Center on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 11 am and 1 pm.

Here is an excerpt of an interview I conducted with Rex and Boots puppeteers Sean Johnson and Anita Coulter.

PJ: Do you have a favorite character from Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths?

SJ: Rex is my favorite, but it’s clear from audience reaction that Wilburforce, the distraught butler, steals the show.

Boots Sketch

Before I started designing Boots for our puppet show Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths, I researched different cat breeds. Here is a rough pencil study I did from a photo I found online.

Don’t miss Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths at the NoHo Arts Center on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 11 am and 1 pm.

Here is an excerpt of an interview I conducted with Rex and Boots puppeteers Sean Johnson and Anita Coulter.

PJ: This is your first time performing at the NoHo Arts Center. Are you nervous?

AC: Not at all! I think I've been performing too long to get nervous anymore. I'm excited, though. A Swazzle show in a theater is going to be such fun! I got to see our “Harry and the Tyrannosaurus Rex” show at the NoHo Arts Center, and I thought the audience was great.

Wacky Rex

Sometimes you just have to get all your ideas on paper: good, bad or wacky. I think if this Rex design had been translated into a puppet, his muzzle would have been too long and his eyes would have been too small (although I do like the ears perched on top of his pinhead).

Don’t miss Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths at the NoHo Arts Center on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 11 am and 1 pm.

Here is an excerpt of an interview I conducted with Rex and Boots puppeteers Sean Johnson and Anita Coulter.

PJ: You’ve performed hundreds of shows at libraries and schools. How is this theater show different?

SJ: For the first time, audiences will get to see our puppet shows in a proper theater setting.

Tux and Glasses

As I have expressed before, it’s important to explore every design possibility when developing a new character. These are designs I did for Boots, from our puppet show Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths. Here Boots is seen as a male tuxedo cat wearing a tuxedo and as an orange tabby cat.

At one point during the design process I landed on the idea that Boots should have cat-eye glasses. Besides the obvious pun, I wanted her to appear bright-eyed, smart and eager to learn.

Don’t miss Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths at the NoHo Arts Center on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 11 am and 1 pm.

Here is an excerpt of an interview I conducted with Rex and Boots puppeteers Sean Johnson and Anita Coulter.

PJ: When did you begin performing with puppets?

AC: I started giving puppet shows during recess when I was in the second grade. Professionally, I've been performing for more than 10 years. I've been interested in puppetry since I was very small. My mother used to buy me puppets for Christmas -- marionettes, usually, but I found I didn't have the patience for marionettes. Too many strings! My first hand puppet was given to me when I was 7, and it was the one I used for my recess shows. I still have it in a place of honor in my house!

Rex and Boots Storyboards

These storyboards are for an upcoming video shoot featuring super sleuths Rex and Boots. The short video will be shown at the California Library Association Convention in Sacramento to promote next summer’s reading program theme, “Get a Clue.”

Don’t miss Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths at the NoHo Arts Center on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 11 am and 1 pm. Click here for more information.

Here is an excerpt of an interview I conducted with Rex and Boots puppeteers Sean Johnson and Anita Coulter.

PJ: When did you know you wanted to be a puppeteer?

SJ: I grew up watching Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, and from an early age I was inspired by the work of Jim Henson. His death had a profound impact on me, and it prompted me to begin building puppets and putting on puppet shows.

Rex and Boots T-shirt

Rex and Boots: Super Sleuths are on the case in this new Swazzle T-shirt. The shirt will be for sale at our NoHo Arts Center performance on Saturday, October 28th. Or you can buy it now at the Swazzle store!